Don't trust a woman in labour

(I break my tradition of having only one word as the title as I can't be bothered spending time thinking of a suitable title for this entry)

After being involved in 6 deliveries, there's one conclusion I've made...

Don't trust a woman in labour...

When the pain intensifies and became unbearable, U might hear them saying...
"I couldn't do this anymore"
"I want this baby out, now!"
"I don't wanna do this"
"Don't touch me"

Not to mention:
"I don't want this baby"
"This is your fault" (to the father)
"Fuck" X 100
"Back off"
"I don't care"
"Shut up!"
"If u say another word,I..."


But not to worry, this will disappear once they see their baby's head coming out of their own body..

And when the baby is on their chest, then only they become themselves again as U hear them saying:

"Aren't U gorgeous?"
"U're so cute"
"Mommy's here"
"She's so lovely"

They will also apologize to everyone in the room for how they behaved and trust me, they'll look 10 times prettier...

Btw, I took this photo yesterday..She's the baby I've delivered..I'm not sure if she's gonna be Ebany or Olivia...I personally prefer Ebany over Olivia, but that's ur mom's call!
To Ebany or Olivia,"Be nice to your mom, she'd been through a lot for U to be here!"

Answered

I'm grateful to Allah for answering my prayer...
At 12am...I managed to get another spontaneous vaginal delivery(SVD)...Yayy!!I've got all signatures for labour ward experience..meaning to say that I can get away with not going to the delivery suite for the remaining 6 weeks!!but of course I would like to perform deliveries by myself after this..
plus I managed to get a vaginal examination(VE) done on another patient..thanks to the patient whose name I shouldn't reveal here and Catherine (the midwife)...I think I've improved my communication skills and that helped me to get the consent for the VE...I've played a good supportive role back in the suite...I know I did..I could tell from the patient's eyes..and the way she kept thanking me..heheheh...
A good night indeed!!!

SVD

I'm on overnight again tonight...
O' Allah....please give me just one more spontaneous vaginal delivery...at least just one..more is great!!!
Please make this shift an enjoyable one!!
Amin..

Forceps

I got to see forceps last morning when I had my fourth overnight shift...
At first, Wendy(the midwife I was shadowing) called me saying that Dr Speirs would like me to be in the delivery suite with him!!I was delighted that Dr Speirs (whom I have yet to meet at that time)...is looking for a med student n that med student is me??When I went into the suite, I saw there were a few people waiting for the birth of the first baby of the family..I actually thought that it was kinda funny that he actually asked me to put on the boots, the same kind that he was wearing...n the midwife said,"Owh...the boots..Bryce likes to wear those(Bryce is his first name).."
Unfortunately,the baby's head just wouldn't slide into the forceps n Dr Speirs taught me an important lesson,"Don't ever force the forceps!"
In the end, I went into theatre and as usual, I offered my hand to take the family pictures!!The 3.8kg baby is named Callayn Josh M*************(he has a 14 letter surname which I didn't even try to memorize n I'm trying to maintain his privacy)

When the sun started to come out and my shift comes to an end, the other patient that I was managing reached her second stage of labour...After an hour of pushing, Dr Ford started to worry that the baby might be compromised as her heart rate is increasing and they finally decided that forceps is the way to go...(yayy..I finally get to see forceps delivery!!)..

Dr Ford had to do an episiotomy and I assisted her by holding the Sims speculum when she was suturing..after explaining to the patient about what has happened, Dr Ford had a debrief with where she explained to me about the suturing she made and she taught me an interesting pneumonic..Forceps Rule:

Back to back
Toes in the air
Right over left
Consider it a pair
Right hand down
Left blade on your hand only patient's left side...

(she actually wrote this down on a paper for me)

I know it's hard to imagine this when U don't have the forceps in front of you..hehe..
I hope I'd be able to put the forceps the next time I'm asked to!!

Birth

I had my first double-scrub last Saturday..(double-scrub:putting your hands on a doctor's or midwife's hand when delivering the baby...according to the midwives, before we can perform the delivery ourselves, we need to do at least 3 double-scrubs)...I was on my overnight shift..and it was a quiet night..I thought I'm being unlucky again-no one's giving birth when I'm around...until..it was 430am in the morning...I was pretending to read the obstetrics book but the truth is I was dozing off...the midwife called me n asked me if I would like to see this patient...I instantly answered "yup" with gleaming eyes..

I was lucky to shadow a very nice midwife who talked me through while she's doing her job..She involved me in the management of the patient...maybe not much but I'm happy to just do the obs rather than doing nothing...I was embarassed whenever she asked me questions and my answer is always I don't know...she also taught me to palpate the patient's tummy..n I was lucky that she's very..."neat"..as the midwife put it.."she's every student's dream"..she not the usual >30 BMI pregnant lady...therefore,it's not that difficult to identify where's the baby's head, buttocks, back n limbs...


My shift would have ended at 7am but I decided to stay as the midwife in charge told me that she thinks that I would be ready to get my first double-scrub!!yayy!!At 7am, the mother was still trying to push but we haven't even catch a glimpse of her baby's head...I felt really bad for her and myself as I haven't mastered the skills in empowering a mother in labour...I'm speechless..not knowing what should I say...I admired the midwives very much..even the student midwife..she was just great..I think we as med students should have a tute that teach us words of encouragement that we can use in the delivery room..I'm afraid that I might say the wrong thing n the mother might just snap at me,"what do u know??u're just a student"..It's unlikely, but who knows, she's in deep emotional stress..she's capable of saying anything..It's the hormone talking...in the end I just rubbed her legs when she started having cramps..n changed the wet towels on her forehead every now n then..

It wasn't until 8am that the baby started crowning...if it wasn't because of the midwives continous support, the mother would have just resorted to using instruments to take her baby out..it never occurred to her that she would be able to do that by herself...

The most magical thing of birth itself is how the environment transformed once the baby is out...the tension just gone...the mother who used to complain of how much she was in pain seemed so contented..the father was ecstatic as he cut the baby's cord...they both just couldn't get enough of their son...and me, I'm too happy that I've had my first double-scrub n I would also be the one delivering the placenta...

However, the happiness doesn't last that long when there were no signs that the placenta was separating...the resident n the midwives tried everything to their best knowledge to help placental delivery but nothing happened...the mother was no longer in pain but she started to worry when told that she would have to go into theatre if the placenta doesn't come out..she said that if she knew this would happen, she might resort to C-section in the first place..saving all the trouble having to work her ass off pushing the baby out...I thought I knew what she's worried most..the scar!!but I know I shouldn't jump to conclusion by telling her that the surgery would be done through her vagina n therefore I just kept my mouth shut..n then when the resident came n talked to her about the surgery n told her that it will be done vaginally, she just said,"that's fine then!"...I couldn't deny that I felt a tad happy that my instinct was true..(I know what my patient's concern is)
I wished I could go into theatre with my patient but I know how tired I am..staying awake for the past 13hours..the midwives kept on asking me if I had eaten anything yet...even the baby's father was also concerned that I haven't had a rest ever since they arrived..
I ate my last piece of sandwich and I wished all the best to the family..I told them I'm sorry that I haven't been of much help but I did learn a lot from them...I honestly feel bad for not being able to come up with encouraging words when the mother was giving up pushing...n part of me worried that the patient actually hate my presence..but when they both said that I did help...I felt so relieved!!!It just made my day!


I felt sorry for the mother as she had to go through a difficult labour....it was late in the afternoon when I rememberred my mom told me that she had a difficult labour with me..she put it in malay as,"lekat uri"...which I compute as retained placenta..the same problem that happened to my patient!!maybe my mom's wasn't as bad as hers that she didn't had to go into theatre but she did told me that my grandma thought she was gone when she was just tired..n couldn't bother opening her eyes...even the doctor was worried...but thankfully she was alright..
My experience today had reminded me again how much I should not take my mom for granted...she had been there for me all my life..she was the one I could always turn to...
I wish I could take a good care of her till the end of my life...
I felt like crying...
I'd better put this to a stop or I might end up crying...


ermm...maybe I shouldn't get married...(haha..yay!!not crying)

Contemplation

My friend Ad asked me yesterday how's my weight loss program going?..Have I started exercising?..my answer was, I've been planning on going for a jog every morning since I came back from Malaysia..which was 2 weeks ago...but then everytime I woke up or after I pray Subuh, I contemplate..n I always find a reason not to go out...my favourite one is-"Let's start tomorrow"..
N then Ad said to me, "Don't think!just do!because the more u think, the more u're incline not to do"...
I was like...Wow!!that's one of the best advice people ever gave me....
We're always told to think before doing something...apparently there are situations when we shouldn't think...

Laziness

Again...I should be studying n that's what I told my tutemate the reason why I'm not going to the delivery suite this morning but instead I woke up at 12pm...I watched Kasanova XXL, went out with Asma'...Asma' wanted to go to THEFACESHOP at The Glen Centro...we're all boycotting body shop!!keep it up everyone!!I also went to harvey norman n Officework..I'm looking for a laptop...even though I surely dont hv the money to buy one, yet...it doesnt hurt to window shop right??!!n when my tutemate smsed me at around 6 pm n he said,"Hey, how's study going??"..then only I rememberred what my plan for today was..
up until now,10minutes to 1am...I havent even started!!!owhh Moony...where's the resolution!!
STUDY HARD -LOSE WEIGHT- SAVE MONEY...